Ministers had been looking for five councils to run the pilot but, in the face of huge public opposition, not one local authority came forward.

However, Joint Waste Authorities - which will assume all the legal rights over rubbish currently held by councils - will now be able to bring in the charges without fear of a voter backlash.

The first is due to be set up next summer. In a Parliamentary written answer, environment minister Jane Kennedy said the quangos would benefit the taxpayer because the larger-scale operations would be more efficient.

'A Joint Waste Authority would be able to put forward a proposal to pilot a waste incentive scheme in its area if it had responsibility for waste collection,' she wrote.

And she made clear that legal powers to introduce bin taxes - which would see households charged for throwing out any rubbish over their allowed limit - remain on the statute book.

Thirty councils - including ones in the Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Devon, Dorset and Suffolk - have so far registered their interest. But critics of the scheme pointed out that the authorities will be run by councillors delegated by local town halls.

There will be no elections to decide who sits on the committees and voters will have no opportunity to pass judgment on what they do.

Families are likely to face the biggest bills because they produce the most rubbish, while middle class households will be hardest hit because those on lower incomes will have the charges covered by extra benefits.

Caroline Spelman, Tory local government spokesman, said: 'Having failed to bully councils into signing up to bin taxes, Labour ministers are trying to sidestep local democracy and impose bin taxes through new regional quangos.

'Bin taxes and bin fines will be used to punish struggling families and are just another way for Gordon Brown to rake in even more money by stealth.'

Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It would be unforgivable if people had bin taxes forced on them by unaccountable quangos. 'These taxes are unfair and the Government should be abolishing quangos, not creating more.'